Program-clock.



No. 669,58I. Patented Mar. I2, 190|.

c. L. HAYES. PROGRAM CLOCK (Applicatiop hlad June 19,- 1900.)

(lo Model.)

IIII? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'CLEBURNE L. HAYES, OF DE FUNIAK SPRNGS, FLORIDA.

PROGRAM-CLOCK.

SPECFCATION forming* part of Letters Patent No. 659,581, dated March 12, 1901.

Application tiled June 19, 1900. Serial No. 20,878. (No model.)

To (L7/Z whom it may concern.:

Be it known that l, CLEBURNE L. HAYES, a citizen 0f the United States, residing at De Funiak Springs, in the county of Walton and State of Florida, have invented a new and useful Alarm-Clock, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to alarm-clocks in general, and more particularly to that class wherein the hands are utilized for closing the circuit of an electric alarm at predetermined intervals, the invention having specific reference to a clock for closing the circuit of an alarm or the circuits of several alarms to announce the times for performance of certain acts or the terminations of certain periods, as where the periods of recitation and study in a school are arranged according to program.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction wherein the sounding of the alarm will be of short duration, additional objects and advantages being evident from the following description.

ln the drawings forming a portion of this specification, and in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, Figure l is an elevation of a clock-face and the hands thereof and showing the arrangement of the circuit-closer, the electric circuit to be closed being indicated diagrammatically. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the hour-hand of the clock and the parts carried thereby, the contact arm being shown engaged with a contact-pin and raised from its circuit-closing posit-ion. Fig. 3 is a partial section of the dial and hands of the clock and showing the connections of the hands to ltheir rotating shafts and the arrangement of the tension-changing eccentric and its coperating strap. Fig. e is a section taken through a portion of the outer edge of the dial and adjacent parts and showing the manner of arranging the contact-pins. Fig. 5 is a section taken through the pivoted block that carries the contact-arm.

Referring now to the drawings, the clock mechanism of the present invention is of common construction, as is also the dial l0, with the exception that the latter has an encircling ring of copper or other suitable metal 1l set ush therewith and insulated therefrom, and through this ring ll are formed perforations l2, which are continued into the insulating-backing 13 of the ring and dial to receive and hold removably a series of contact-pins 14,01? suitable metal, these pins being` disposed in radial alinement with the time-marks upon the dial which indicate the times when they are to be engaged by the contact-arm hereinafter described.

An insulating-sleeve l5 is slipped over the shafts 16 and l' of the clock and is fixed to the clock-face, and upon this sleeve is a metallic band i8, which is electrically connected with one terminal of an electric battery 19 through a switch 2O and an alarm 2l, the Opposite termin al of said battery being electrically connected with the ring ll.

The minute-hand 22 of the clock is of usual form and arrangement, while the hour-hand 23 carries a pivoted contact-arm, which is adapted for contact at times with the contact-pins l-land with the band i8. 'lhis contact-arm (shown at 2li) is mounted in an insulating-block 25, which is pivoted, by means of a screw 26, to a metallic block 27, held adjustably upon the extension 2S of the hourhand by means of a set-screw 29. The contact-arm is adapted for adjustment longitudinally in the block 25 and is held in adjustment by a set-screw 30, said arm being of such length that it may touch a contact-pin 14 with its outer end and at the same time rest with its inner end upon the band 18 and when in this position will close the circuit of the battery 19 to operate the alarm.

It will be noted that the arm 24E is mounted adjacentits outer end in the block 25, whereby a slight movement of the outer end of the arm will result in a much greater movement of the inner end thereof, which rests upon the band 1S, and thus as the contact-arm is carried around the dial of the clock by the hour-hand and is brought into contact with a contact-pin la a very slight further movement of the hour-hand will move the contactarm sufciently to cause it to tilt and raise its inner end from contact with the band 18. Therefore while the contact-arm is in contact with a contactpoint for a relatively long time the circuit of the battery 19 is closed for only a very short percentage of that time. The utility of this arrangement will be ap- IOO parent when it is taken into consideration that for the purposes of the clock the circuitclosing contact-arm must be carried by the hour-hand and at the same time the duration ofthe sounding of the alarm must not be so long as would be required for the hour-hand itself to rub against a contact-pin and close the circuit direct. The outer end of the contact-arm 24 is of hook shape, as shown, and is of platinum or other refractile metal, although it will be understood that the end of the arm may have any specific form best suited to the conditions, the pivotal movementof the arm to raise its inner end from the band 1S being limited by a guide 3l, carried by the hour-hand, while the inner extremity of t-he arm has a platinum contacting tip.

Upon reference to Fig. 1 ot` the drawings it will be seen that the contact-arm will lie tangent to the lower half of the periphery of the band 18 during the progress of the hour-hand from twelve oclock to six oclocl; and that it will lie tangent tothe upper half of the band during the remaining movement of the hourhand. rlhus while some means must be provided for holding the inner end of the contact-arm yieldably against the band 1S at all times this holding means must be increased in its intensity during the time that the arm is against the lower half of the band, for the reason that at this time the inner end of the arm tends to fall away from the under side ot the band, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings, due to the weight of the long end of the arm. It' the contact-arm is thus out of contact with the band, it will be tilted to where its outer end will not engage the contact-pins.

In order to hold the contact-arm normally against the band 14- and in position to engage the contact-pins, a strap-spring 32 is provided, this spring having its outer end engaged with an eye carried by the block 25, while its opposite end is disposed in the end of an eccentric-rod 33, in which it is held by a set-screw 34. The eccentric-rod forms a continuation ot' one end of an eccentric-strap 34, which engages a peripheral groove in a disk 3G, of insulating material, which is mounted upon the band 1S and eccentric thereto, said disk or eccentric being held against displacement by means ot' a set-screw 37, which is engaged therewith and is adapted for impingement against the surface of the band 18. The cccentric-rod 33 is slidably mounted in a guideblock 38, fixed to the back of the hour-hand, and which block, which is of insulating material, supports the guide 3l. In practice the eccentric 3o' is set so that its point of great-est eccentricity will lie in the radius of the dial which passes through the numeral 3. Thus when the hour-hand leaves the numeral 12 the eccentric-strap moves to the right, moving the spring 32 or the inner end thereof outwardly, causing its central portion to bow and increase the tension of the spring to hold the contact-arm more firmly against the band 1S. .The tension et the spring is thus increased to its maximum where the contactarm has its greatest tendency to fall away from the ban d 18, while the minimum tension of the spring is when the arm is at a diametrically opposite point.

It will be seen upon reference to Fig. 2 el' the drawings that the ends ot' the eccentricstrap are connected by an adjustable screw 110, whereby the friction al engagement oi the strap with the eccentric may be so gaged as to permit easy movement ot the parts and yet prevent the eccentric-strap from slipping, with resultant lost motion.

If desired, a number of bands 18 may be disposed one above another and separated by insulating material, and the perforations of the lower bands maybe smaller than those of the upper bands, whereby contact-pins may be engaged with the lower bands and yet remain insulated from the upper bands. `\Vith this construction each band may govern a separate circuit, or, if desired, the band '18 may be in insulated segments, each segment governing a separate circuit, the several circuits being connected in multiple with a common source of electricity or having individual sources, as preferred. Furthermore, various other modifications ot' the specific construction shown may be made, and anysuitable materials and proportions may be used for the various parts without departing from the spirit ot the invention.

What is claimed is- 1. The combination with a clock and a hand thereof, ol' a pivoted contact-arm carried by the hand, a contact disposed for normal contact by the arm, a contact-pin in the path of movement of the contact-arm for engagement thereby to move it pivotally from the contact with which it is normally engaged, and an electric alarm-circuit including the pin and the contact with which the arm is normally engaged.

2. The combination with a timepiece, of a contact-arm pivoted to a hand of the timepiece, a contact-plate against which the arm normally rests, a contact-pin in the path of movement of the opposite end ofthe arm for engagement thereby to raise the arm from the contact-plate, means for holding the arm yieldably against the contact-plate, and an alarm-circuit having its terminals connected with the pin and the contact-plate, respectively.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a movable member, of a contact-arm pivoted to the movable member, a contact-plate against which the contact-arm normally rests, and a second contact in the path ot' movement of the pivoted arm with the movable member, to move the contactarm from the contact-plate.

It. 1n a device of the class described, the combination with a rotatable member, of a contact-arm pivoted to the rotatable member, a contact-plate against which the con- IOO TIO

AlO

tact-arm normally rests, a contact-pin in the path of movement of the contact-arm to move the arm from the contactplate, and variable means for holding the arm yieldingly against the contact-plate.

5. The combination with a clock, of a contact-arm pivoted to a hand thereof, an annular contact-plate against which the inner end ofthe arm normally rests, a contact-pin in the path of movement of the arm to move it pivotally from contact with the contact-plate, a spring disposed to hold the arm normally and yieldingly against the contact plate, and means for varying the tension of the spring` automatically.

6. The combination With a clock, of a contact-arm pivoted to a hand thereof, an annular contact-plate disposed concentric With the shaft of the hand and with Which the contactarm is adapted for normal contact to move over its periphery, a contact-point in the path of movement of the arm to move it from the annular plate, a spring connected with the arm to hold it normally and yieldingly in contact with the annular plate, a disk disposed eccentric to the shaft of the hand, a strap slidably engaged with the periphery of the disk, and connections between the strap and spring for varying` the tension of the spring.

7. The combination with a clock of a contact-arm pivoted thereto, an ann nlar contactplate disposed concentric with the shaft of the hand and against which the arm normally rests, a disk mounted upon the plate and eccentric thereto, a strap slidably engaged With the disk, a spring connected with the strap and arm to hold it normally in contact With the annular plate, a band having perforations, contact-pins adapted for engagement with the band to lie in the path of movement of the contact-arm for contact by the arm to move it from contact with the plate, and an alarm-circuit including the band and contactplate.

ln testimony that'l claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

CLEBURNE L. HAYES.

Witnesses:

LIZZIE HAYES, ANN E. PUNsLnY. 

